The South Carolina team of Trevor Jeffers and Hunter Bragg took home The Bass Federation (TBF) High School Fishing World Finals championship trophy Saturday with a weight of 19.11 pounds.

“I’m extremely excited and also glad to be out of the boat,” Jeffers said after the tournament. “I had to sit in that chair for hours.”

The duo said they caught their limit on Lake Dardanelle by 10 a.m. and spent the rest of the afternoon culling for the biggest fish.

During the weigh-in at Lake Dardanelle State Park, the pair was among the first anglers to be weighed and spent the rest of the weigh-in sweating it out on the “hot seat.”

“I about had a heart attack up there,” Jeffers said.

Last year’s champion, Austen Cathcart and his new partner, Tanner Jones finished in 17th place after a sixth place finish on Friday.

The Pottsville Apaches team, like many of the other teams Saturday struggled against two thunderstorms which swept across the lake around noon.

“We’re really disappointed,” Jones said. “Our fish were gone after that. They just wouldn’t bite in the rain.”

Cathcart said the team attempted several different fishing strategies and lures but nothing seemed to work.

“We were fishing shallow and they wouldn’t bite,” Cathcart said. “We tried to fish deep and they still wouldn’t bite.”

The Arkansas River Valley was well represented in the top 10 of the finals. Jonny Schultz and Ralson Lusby of Arkansas SAF finished a mere three ounces behind the champions.

Andrew Higby and Zackery Willis from Dover High School came in sixth with 15.06 pounds, Josh Dugger and Jake Dugger placed seventh with 15.03 pounds, and Jonathan Dotson and Jeffery Roberds of Dover placed 10th with 12.11 pounds.

After winning the tournament, Jeffers told the crowd gathered at Lake Dardanelle State Park that he’d worked his whole life for this. Jeffers, a senior, would get no second chance.

“I’ve worked all my life for this and this is it,” Jeffers said. “I told him [Bragg] to go big or go home. I don’t get to come back and try this again.”